Installing a panel, normally sheetrock, on the ceiling is an onerous chore for less than several persons. For a single worker it is impossible to do this job without a deadman or prop to hold up the panel while it is being nailed or screwed to the overhead joists or other members.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,143,219 of Aldrich describes such an apparatus which is a large-format hinged structure having at one end an upright that is braced between the ceiling and floor and a hinged support. The panel is fitted at one end at the ceiling to the upright and the hinged support is swung up and propped in place while the panel is attached. Such a device is a fairly complicated and expensive piece of equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,879 of Mercer describes another freestanding piece of equipment used to put sheetrock on the ceiling. While allowing one man to do the job, it also is a fairly complicated and bulky piece of equipment.
A telescoping mast-type system which allows one man to put panels on the ceiling is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,942 of Young. While this piece of equipment has received fairly wide acceptance, it is an expensive, bulky, and complex item that is normally only brought to the job and assembled when needed for a very large ceiling. It is not the type of equipment a one-man operator could afford to own.